An Open Letter to the World
by Silent Wanderer of the Night
Summary: What would have happened if Johnny and Ponyboy would have met somebody else in the church? What if that somebody else just so happened to think Johnny was someone else and ends up falling in love with him? And what's with the letter that she always has?
1. Chapter 1

Ponyboy looked over at Johnny, who was halfway asleep. Johnny was leaned up against Pony, his jacket pulled up to his ears to keep him as warm as possible. He looked around the old church which Dally had sent them to, to hide out until all the fuss about the murder went down.  
  
Pony sighed and closed his eyes, waiting for the moment that sleep would eventually take him.   
  
Johnny's half open eyes searched the room around them. He felt Pony's warm breath against his arm, knowing that his friend was already asleep. He was still a little nervous about staying in this place. He kept having the disturbing feeling that someone was going to barge in and haul them away.  
  
He decided to let the feeling go and at least try to get some sleep.   
  
Johnny awoke with a start. He had only been asleep for about an hour or two when he heard someone open up the church door. He looked over at the door. It was cracked open.  
  
He started to panic as he shook Ponyboy awake.   
  
"What the-" Ponyboy looked up at his friend, his eyes still halfway shut. "What's the matter, Johnny?" Johnny looked at him with his big, black, scared eyes. "Pony, someone's here."  
  
Ponyboy looked around the room, feeling the uncomfortable night breeze coming from the slightly opened door. "I don't remember leaving that open..." Johnny shook his head and said, "That's because you didn't. Someone opened it and that means that someone's inside."  
  
Ponyboy felt the sudden act of panic start to weal up inside of him. Someone was inside the abandoned church with them, and they were supposed to be in hiding. 'It could be an assassin sent by the Soc. It could be some lunatic that's in hiding, too. Someone could be out looking for us. It could be the cops.' Johnny head swarmed with thoughts about who it could be, scaring himself even more in the process.  
  
Ponyboy slowly stood up and began to walk towards the door. Johnny took his switchblade in his hand and braced himself. He watched in slow motion as Ponyboy closed the door and started to walk back to him. He stood up at looked around, too.  
  
The must have circled that church about five times before they decided that no one was there and tried to go back to sleep. Johnny still had the feeling that someone was inside with them and it was really starting to scare him.  
  
He tried to close his eyes, but they refused to shut. Someone was in there and he had to find out who it was before they decided to come out and show themselves. He looked down at Ponyboy, who was curled up into a ball and was already asleep.  
  
He slowly stood up and quietly walked around the church again, this time he was looking even closer then last time. At one point or another, he started to hear someone else sneaking around, too. 'It's Ponyboy, it has to be Ponyboy.' he thought to himself, turning the corner and walking closer to and closer to the sounds. It was dark out, so he couldn't really see anything very good.  
  
He walked over towards the door and quietly opened it, peeking his head outside. He jumped at the sound of someone's footsteps behind him. "Who's there?" he said, spinning around, clutching his white knuckles around his switchblade.   
  
Silence filled the church, making him feel real uncomfortable. The moonlight moved towards the back of the room, shining itself on a girl. She had brown hair down to her mid-back and hazel eyes, she was wearing a black mini skirt, black socks up to her knees, a plain white shirt, and what seemed to be an "Air Force" Jacket. She looked just as scared as Johnny. "Who are you?" he asked, trying to keep his cool. She didn't answer him, but instead looked away and bent down on her knees, wrapping her arms around her legs.  
  
He sighed and put his knife away. "Hey Pony!" he called out. He heard his friend scramble to his feet and run towards him. "What's wrong, Johnny?" He pointed at the girl and Pony stared at her with a very disturbed look. "Who is she?" Pony whispered to Johnny. His friend shrugged and said, "She won't talk to me. I think she's scared, though."  
  
Pony turned his attention back to the girl and stared at her a little longer. "She doesn't look harmful...Man, she looks like she's around our age." The girl stared at them through a few strands of her messy hair. Both her and Johnny locked gazes with each other, neither of them attempting to move. Pony on the other hand, took a few steady steps forward and held out his hand.  
  
"Hi there, miss. My name's Ponyboy and that there is Johnny. What's yours?" The girl kept her eyes on Johnny, but took Pony's hand and stood up. She wasn't very tall, but neither was she short. She let go of Pony's hand and slowly walked over to Johnny. Pony watched her movements with interest. Why was she walking over to his friend?  
  
Once the girl made it all the way to Johnny, she surprised them both by leaning her head against him and burring her face in his shirt, as if she was crying. "Johnny, are you sure that you don't know her?" Pony asked, walking towards the two. Johnny shook his head and slowly wrapped an arm around her shoulder. "No, I've never se.." the two boys looked at her in shock. "That's you're name?" Ponyboy asked, still in shock at how long it was. Johnny shook his head and said, "No, her name's Becka. That's the last thing that you said so I take it that that's what you want to be called, right?"  
  
Becka nodded and wrapped her arm around Johnny's, leaning her head against his shoulder. Johnny's face became a little warm, being so close to a girl that he just met. Ponyboy laughed and began to lie down. "Why don't you stay here with us for .." the two boys looked at her in shock. "That's you're name?" Ponyboy asked, still in shock at how long it was. Johnny shook his head and said, "No, her name's Becka. That's the last thing that you said so I take it that that's what you want to be called, right?"  
  
Becka nodded and wrapped her arm around Johnny's, leaning her head against his shoulder. Johnny's face became a little warm, being so close to a girl that he just met. Ponyboy laughed and began to lie down. "Why don't you stay here with us for the night and we'll talk more in the morning."   
  
Johnny removed his arm from her's and laid down on the floor, too. Becka looked towards the door and then to the windows. She stared at them for a while before she was brought back to reality when Johnny said, "Aren't you tired?" She nodded and walked over to a spot directly across from him.  
  
She wrapped her jacket securely around her and watched both Pony and Johnny as they began to fall asleep. Johnny watched her, too. 'Why was she so afraid? Why did she come here? Why does she keep touching me?' he thought to himself as sleep finally began to take him. The thought of a stranger sleeping in the same room with them didn't really bother him, to his surprise. 


	2. Chapter 2

Johnny awoke the next morning as the sun hit his pale cheeks. He rubbed his eyes open and looked around. His heart began to speed up when he saw that he wasn't in the Curtis home, the lot, or his own room. A wave of relief came to him when he saw Ponyboy and Becka both curled up in different corners of the church room.   
  
He stood up and walked around a little more, being able to see their new home for the first time during the day. When he got back to the main room, he saw that Becka was no longer there. He raised his eyebrow and shrugged. There was a small creaking sound that came from the back of the room, sending a chill down his spine.  
  
He took a deep breath a began to follow the sound. He sighed when he saw Becka on her knees, puling up one of the planks from the wall. She pulled a duffle bag from behind it and looked up when she saw Johnny. She didn't look as scared as she did the night before.  
  
She nodded her head and opened the bag up. Johnny walked over to her and sat beside her as she began to pull things out of it. There was a small pocket bag with change in it, four sandwiches in a lunch box, two bottles of water, and an old, dirty envelope with a letter in it.  
  
"Are those things all yours?" he asked, trying make conversation with his new acquaintance. She nodded and took out two of the sandwiches and one of the bottled waters. She handed one of the sandwiches to Johnny and began to nibble off of the other one.   
  
He stared down at the sandwich and shrugged, figuring that it was safe enough to eat. They sat there for a few minuets, eating their breakfast and sneaking glances at each other. Johnny finished his sandwich before her, so he took this chance to start asking her questions.  
  
He cleared his throat, making her look up. "So...can I ask where you came from?"  
  
Becka set down her almost completely eaten sandwich and stared in the distance in front of them. She sighed and shrugged. Johnny smiled and said, "Is that a yes?"  
  
She coughed and looked slightly away from him. "I'm from...California."  
  
Johnny smiled and leaned his head back against the dusty wall. "I've always wanted to go to California. I hear it's real pretty there, and the people are very ni-"   
  
"No."  
  
Johnny was taken back from her sudden erg to disagree with him. "I'm sorry, is it not as good as I heard it was?"  
  
Becka turned back towards him, a hint of anger and more fear in her eyes. "Everything there is beautiful. Everything's perfect. Everything that you've heard, is true."  
  
Johnny raised his eyebrow and tilted his head slightly to the side. "Then why did you-" he cut himself off, expecting her to finish the rest. She made a small smile, the first that he'd seen her attempt to make since he had met her.  
  
"Why did I run away and come here?" she asked. He nodded and looked ahead of them as well.  
  
She sighed and coughed again, wiping something away from her eyes. "I ran away because..." there was a moment of pause before she continued on. "it was too perfect..."  
  
Johnny yawned and shook his head so he could stay awake. "But why would you run away form something that was perfect? Everyday that I spend my miserable life here, I wish that this place could be perfect. I wish that my parents would start to notice me and even maybe start being nice to me. I wish that the Curtis' family would stop having to worry about me and be able to go on with their lives. I wish that Dally would stop stealing things..." he went on and on about all of the things that he wished would happen.  
  
Becka stopped saying things to him and eventually stood up. She grabbed her bag and hung it around her shoulder.   
  
"Where you going?" he asked, standing up too. She looked towards the door and said, "We're going to need more than this" referring to the things in her bag, "to stay alive around here." in a voice that he could barely make out. He smiled and followed her out the door, writing something on the sandy floor with his finger before actually leaving.  
  
Later that Day  
  
Ponyboy woke up as the now very bright sun scorched through his eyelids. He looked around the unfamiliar place, taking a minuet to remember where he was and why he was there. He yawned and stretched out his arms once it came back to him. He looked down at the floor where Johnny had written: "Went Shopping We'll Be Back Later", in messy handwriting.  
  
He yawned again and stood up to look around. He walked outside and found a small fountain that had fresh cold water in it. He sprayed himself with it and looked up to see Johnny and Becka walking towards him, each with a box in their arms.  
  
He smiled and walked towards them. "Where'd you guys go?" he asked. Johnny held out his box for Ponyboy to take and then he took Becka's box from her. "A lady shouldn't have to carry a box." he said in a soft voice. She smiled and followed the boys inside.   
  
The two boys set the boxes on the floor and began to take things out. In one box, there was two months worth of baloney, several bottles of water, lots of bread, a book, hair dye, and some cold medicine. In the other box, there was three blankets, three pillows (all of which weren't in the very best shape), and three towels.  
  
Ponyboy shrugged as he held up one of the blankets. "Good idea. It got pretty cold in here last night." He looked around some more and held up the hair dye bottle. "What's this for?" Johnny sighed and looked over at Becka, who nodded.  
  
"Since we're hiding out, we're both going to need a disguise." he said. Ponyboy put his hand on his head and shook his head. "No...you can't do that to my hair, Johnny-cake."  
  
Becka nodded and took the bottle from him. She put her hand in Johnny's pocket, as if it where her own, and took out his knife. She grabbed one of the towels and began to walk outside, Johnny following her and Ponyboy following him. "Did she finally start talking?" he asked Johnny while they followed her towards the small fountain.  
  
Johnny shrugged and said, "She talks to me, but not that much. The most I heard her say stuff was this morning." Ponyboy raised his eyebrow and stood in front of her. She looked down at the floor and quietly said, "Sit."  
  
Ponyboy obeyed her and sat crisscrossed on the dirt floor. He crossed his arms and closed his eyes as she began to cut his hair with Johnny's knife. Johnny had to keep himself from laughing at his friend, but he received a rather unhappy look from Becka, as if she was saying: don't you laugh, you're next.  
  
When she was through with cutting, she poured some of the hair dye on his head. She then looked over at Johnny and held up the knife. He sighed and sat down next to Ponyboy.  
  
"Can I get up yet?" Pony asked. Johnny was about to answer, but stopped when he realized that pieces of his long hair was falling to the floor. He sighed and went on. "I don't think she wants you to go anywhere until after it dries, is that right?"  
  
Becka nodded and continued to cut off the boy's hair. Ponyboy laughed and said, "How do you know what she's saying if she doesn't even say anything?" Johnny sighed and said, "I don't really know. I guess it's kinda like how I used to be."  
  
"Hm?" Ponyboy said, trying to figure out what Johnny was talking about. Then it hit him. Right after Johnny had been jumped, he hadn't talked to anyone for a long time. He had become very skittish and was afraid of almost everything. He looked up at Becka, who was concentrated on trying to cut Johnny's hair in a certain way.  
  
"So..." Pony started. "was she hurt by someone?" Johnny sighed and said, "I don't know, she hasn't told me, y-OW!" He winced when he felt a rather hard tug on his head. He pouted and looked down at the floor. Ponyboy laughed and shook his head.   
  
"I guess you were saying a little too much?"   
  
Johnny laughed, realized that she was done, and stood up. He stretched himself out and thanked Becka, taking his knife away from her. She tilted her head to the side and looked at Ponyboy's head. She turned the knob to the fountain and motioned for Pony to sit by it so she could rinse the dye out.  
  
He shuttered as the icy water splashed against his neck. Johnny laughed and Becka smiled, trying not to do so. "It's cold!" Pony cried, but Becka kept rinsing the dye out, as if she couldn't hear him. Once she was done, she sat the towel on his head and began to dry it off.  
  
'I feel like a little kid...' Pony thought to himself, but said nothing. Once she was done, both Becka and Johnny stared with wide eyes at him. "Oh...my..." Johnny said, trying not to laugh. Pony touched his hair and said, "What? What's wrong?" He looked down at the water's reflection and his heart skipped a beat.  
  
His long dark brown hair was now short and blond. 


End file.
